back to article Post-pub nosh neckfiller: Sizzling sag aloo

We're disappointed to report that despite our attempts last week to raise the tone of our post-pub neckfiller nosh recipes by the classy use of a soupçon of français, we have not yet attracted a sponsor willing to back our efforts to push the culinary envelope. No matter, because the latest offering for your wobbly dining …

  1. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Happy

    Interesting...

    I like the minimal ingredient approach. I've never tried oregano in an Indian recipe but it's worth a go.

    1. Sleepy Bob

      Re: Interesting...

      Recently I've started using dried basil in Indian recipes. Works a treat.

    2. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Interesting...

      Works for us - give it a blast.

  2. chivo243 Silver badge

    No Meat?

    Looks good, but I gotta have some meat in my post pub grub. I thought this was only side dish at Indian restaurants?

    1. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Happy

      Re: No Meat?

      Easy peasy! Potatoes + spinach + ................... bacon!

  3. jake Silver badge

    Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

    When exactly did spuds get to India? By this logic, I guess that tomatoes are classic Italian, vanilla is classicly from Madagascar, Chocolate comes from Holland, Coffee comes from Jamaica and Pineapples come from Hawai'i.

    1. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Trollface

      Re: Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

      Well, if an Austin Allegro is a "classic car", then aloo is classic Indian food.

    2. Elmer Phud

      Re: Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

      "When exactly did spuds get to India?"

      How about 'any old root veg/tuber sort of thing like wot is handy locally?'

      It's not as if yer local Indian/Chinese/Thia/Korean etc etc. place isn't also using local-ish products to substitute for the 'real' item.

    3. grumpyoldeyore
      Flame

      Re: Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

      "When exactly did spuds get to India?" AFAIK the 17th century, taken there by the Portugese (in Goa) and or the Brits. Certainly my brother-in-law's mother used them in curries when she was there in the civil service before independence. Flames, because she used to make some good hot ones.

    4. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

      Unlike various other "national" food types such as Chinese, Indian fare has rapidly taken on whatever local or new ingredients as are available. e.g. How many potato based Chinese dishes are there available in a Chinese restaurant, or Cantonese, or Japanese?

      The fact that many of the Indian recipes we know of in the UK were created in the UK or Europe is another factor. Now to just educate people that "Jalfrezi" is simply as style of cooking, not an indicator of peppery hotness, similarly "korma" is not necessarily for hot-food-whimps either as they can be made deliciously hot.

      1. Robert Helpmann??
        Childcatcher

        Re: Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

        Unlike various other "national" food types such as Chinese, Indian fare has rapidly taken on whatever local or new ingredients as are available.

        Obviously, you are much more experienced with Indian food than other cuisines. Chinese chefs are famous for making do with whatever ingredients are available wherever they happen to find themselves. Japanese recipes tend to use sweet potatoes rather than white, but sushi and tempura recipes have been adapted to meet the challenge local ingredients have provided all over the world.

        1. Jedit Silver badge

          "Chinese chefs are famous for making do with whatever ingredients are available "

          I remember the Chinese chippy near my gran's house. Special fried rice had the usual diced pork and chicken and the odd prawn, peas, and an omelette on top. Much as I like a proper Chinese with the intended ingredients, I miss that sometimes.

          1. Triggerfish

            Re: "Chinese chefs are famous for making do with whatever ingredients are available "

            From eating a fair bit of fried rice in SEA, small bits of diced ham/pork, and an egg on top is pretty classic over there as well. I'd say the egg on top is pretty common everywhere in that part of the world as it would have been cheap protein.

            A lot of food gets influences from elsewhere. Southern Thai cuisine has a lot more coconut milk (introduced from India) than Northern, Chillies (Portuguese via India). Vietnamese food there's loads of French influences, likewise Laos you can get amazing bread in both countries.

      2. ADC

        Re: How many potato based Chinese dishes are there available in a Chinese restaurant?

        You'd be surprised.

        Here in China, many of the local restaurants covering a range of regional styles (including Hunan, Sichuan and others), have some variation on a dish of sliced potatoes with chili/garlic/onions/ginger/bacon.

        Definitely one of the ex-pat favourites :-)

    5. Vincent Ballard

      Re: Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

      In my local kebab shop I once witnessed an Italian customer arguing with the Turkish owner over which of their two countries chillis are originally from. I considered it politic to refrain from pointing out that they're from the New World.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Aloo is "classic" Indian food? Really?

      " I guess that tomatoes are classic Italian,"

      For once you guess correctly. Strangely enough a couple of hundred years is plenty long enough for ingredients to be assimilated into a culinary tradition.

  4. ISYS

    Alternative ingredient

    I don't have a large onion that I can cut in half. Would a small onion be a suitable substitute?

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Alternative ingredient

      Excellent. Just how small is this onion, exactly?

    2. Martin Budden Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Alternative ingredient

      Would a small onion be a suitable substitute?

      Not if you cut it in half.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That is not Saag Aloo........

    It's fried potatoes with a token spinach garnish.

    Saag @ 20-50% c/f potatoes, (by weight).

    Oregano - NO !

    Garam Masala - NO !

    Ginger, cumin, mustard seed, tumeric - YES !

    Chilies, garlic - Optional

    1. Martin Budden Silver badge
      Go

      Re: That is not Saag Aloo........

      Saag Aloo literally means "Spinach Potato", so this dish does fit the name. It may not be a traditional recipe, but then again pubs aren't traditional in India anyway... so I think we can allow plenty of leeway.

      1. Ben Bonsall

        Re: That is not Saag Aloo........

        Saag is actually generic greens- Palak is specifically spinach

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: That is not Saag Aloo........

        If you defined, "pub" as a local watering(alcohol) hole --then every indian village does have a few of those ;)

  6. Piro Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Just cooking this up right now..

    Why not, everything was to hand, although in a smaller portion (not enough spuds left).

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Just cooking this up right now..

      Enjoy.

  7. Little Mouse

    Love it

    I like the way you think. A whole article (and pay-check) from recycling some of last week's recipe!

    Next week. The Boiled Spud?

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Love it

      Oi - we just happened to mention the chickpea stew goes well with sag aloo. Bear in mind we have to allocate sufficient time to get drunk to test the recipes in real world conditions. You may think this is a bit of a lark, but my liver's in a right state.

  8. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
    Windows

    Isn't it about time...

    ...we had access to https://recipies.theregister.co.uk with a handy link to all these new IT related oral goodness stories?

    1. SoaG

      Re: Isn't it about time...

      Well, yes, though I'm curious, why httpS for recipies?

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Isn't it about time...

        >why httpS for recipies?

        Because terrorists.

        Or North Korean hackers. Suppose N K discovered food......

        1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

          Re: Re: Isn't it about time...

          Indeed. I reckon the Carolina Reaper masala omelette is far more dangerous than their lamentable fizzle nukes.

    2. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Isn't it about time...

      Well, let us have a think about how we can get them all into one place...

  9. Ketlan
    Pint

    Delicious

    We just had this for dinner here at Ketlan Towers and it was delicious (though we added the ginger, et al for luck). Cheers, Lester. Looking forward to the next mini-feast.

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Delicious

      Good job. Fair enough on the additional ingredients - we're refining our recipe as we go, so have extra stuff to add to the mix.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Delicious

        Not wanting to go all Delia but - Olive oil in curry ?

        1. JDX Gold badge

          Re: Not wanting to go all Delia but - Olive oil in curry ?

          Why not? If it tastes nice, it's good.

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Neil Barnes Silver badge
        Pint

        Re: Delicious

        We had it for lunch today - along with the masala omelette - with a bloody great gammon joint.

        Unconventional perhaps, but four thumbs up from four of us.

        1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

          Re: Re: Delicious

          I'm not sure the "bloody great gammon joint" is in the spirit of our neckfiller "trying to avoid pork-based products for a a couple of weeks at least" spirit, but a magnificent repast, to be sure.

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
            Facepalm

            Re: Delicious

            "trying to avoid pork-based products for a a couple of weeks at least"

            Sorry? You what? It's simply impossible to avoid bacon for more than a week. Ye canna break the laws of physics.

            1. Zog_but_not_the_first
              Boffin

              Re: Delicious

              Absolutely! You do realise that bacon has an event horizon, don't you?

  10. emmanuel goldstein

    simple tarka daal

    also good:

    cook yellow dried split peas according to instructions on packet.

    while cooking them add chicken/vegetable stock to water.

    meanwhile chop plenty garlic and Stephen (fry) until almost burnt.

    add the fried garlic to the cooked daal.

    for the tarka:

    put one tin plum tomatoes in a pan add some crushed garlic then rinse all tomato out of tin with water and add.

    simmer the tomatoes/water/garlic mix until reduced then crush with potato masher.

    season with salt and pepper then add to cooked daal.

    use hand blender to smooth tarka daal.

    get stuck in.

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: simple tarka daal

      Nice.

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: simple tarka daal

      At what stage do you add the Otter?

      1. muddysteve

        Re: simple tarka daal

        If you add more chillies it makes it otter.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    more sag

    I've seen more spinach in the wifes teeth or is that more saag in a cheerleaders pompom, can't remember too much beer.

  12. Tom 38
    WTF?

    Looks tasty

    But why are you deep frying the spices?

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Looks tasty

      Infuses the flavours into the oil I gather.

      1. Triggerfish

        Re: Looks tasty

        I have a recipe for a madras paste somewhere and you fry the spices in oil rather than dry fry them.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Looks tasty

        Yep, infuses the oil, the better to then get those flavours deeper into the spuds.

      3. Tom 38

        Re: Looks tasty

        Er, well, yes. But why deep frying them? Looks like there's half a pint of the golden stuff in there.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Looks tasty

          No-one's deep frying anything.

      4. Andus McCoatover
        Flame

        Re: Looks tasty

        S'funny. When I was (quite) rich and (relatively) well-known, to make ends meet in our "Yuppie-era-bought" 3 storey house, we had lodgers living on the top floor. At that time, interest rates jovially went to 15% on 'black wednesday' - I digress.

        One of the couple was a lovely Indian girl. She showed me that, with exactly the same spices, the order of cooking completely changed the flavour. I would'nt have believed it, but I measured, mixed and cooked the spices as she instructed while she stood next to me.

        One (we did poatoes, to test) was deliciously sweet, the other sharp.

        A skill I want to learn!

        1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

          Re: Re: Looks tasty

          The effect of the order of cooking makes perfect sense to me. I too would welcome that skill.

          1. Triggerfish

            Re: Looks tasty

            The timing of what you add definitely makes a difference to a Massaman curry.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    OK, I've optimised my Greek style Pork Gyros Pitta to avoid too many pans.

    It's intended to go with three of those new-fangled rectangular pitta wraps (most UK supermarket wraps are too thin and weedy). You'll also need a garlic-y dip. Most supermarket tsatziki is too feeble, though onion and garlic is usually good.

    You also need one big spud, a tomato, a small onion, and half a supermarket pork loin (about 200g of good lean pork).

    Peel the spud and chop into long thin chips. Shallow fry in olive oil until browning a bit. Move to the side of the pan (yep, no need for a chip pan; surprisingly doesn't impair the result).

    Slice off the tomato top and bottom and slice the rest thinly and set aside for garnish.

    Slice the onion and pick out a few outer rings, about 1/3, cut them in half, and set aside for garnish. Chop the rest finely and fry with a little salt and garlic.

    Slice the pork loin thinly, like you're doing sushimi. You can use the same knife as before. Add to the pan.

    Add a couple of teaspoons of dried oregano, one and a half of parsley (or one, then a half of dill if you have it), one of paprika (regular/sweet, not smoked) and a third of a one of cayenne pepper (by all means meddle with these ratios - just don't skimp). Season with salt and black pepper. Stir around a lot.

    With the meat cooked through, fold in the 'chips' to the mix.

    To serve, lay out the pitta, long edge to the top. Add a desert-spoon sized dollop of dip and spread around the general middle area. Add some of those raw onion curls and slices of tomato, then a third of the meat and chips, in a vertically-oriented heap half-way across. Wrap up and eat.

    Just beware of the odd drip from the bottom as the oil and dip mix and get too close to one end.

    (In an authentic one, the meat is marinated for much longer, the chips are done separately, and there's some weird trick of twisting a circular pitta into a cone with the aid of a half-open paper bag. I have yet to master this final skill. Note the icon represents a pint of cold Mythos, recently imported by Morrisons).

  14. Triggerfish

    Carnitas

    Since you are doing a couple of prepared post pub neckfillers.

    Can I suggest the porky goodness of Carnitas.

    Takes a good few hours precooking (although you don't have to do much prep). But freezes well, should stay OK in the Fridge for a few days as well because its quite fatty.

    Sorry no real measurements I sort of chuck stuff in, still finding the best balance.

    Couple of pounds of pork shoulder.

    2 oranges.

    1 largish onion

    Chillies (up to you how many - but two or three is only very mild)

    Couple teaspoons of oregano

    Bay leaves.

    Half a bulb of garlic

    3 or 4 teaspoons of cumin seeds (halve it if ground)

    Good splash of cider/ wine vinegar.

    3-4 teaspoons sea salt

    Decent sized casserole pot

    Oil.

    Method

    1. Remove skin from pork (make pork scratchings).*

    2. Chop the pork into about 2 inch cubes put it in the casserole port, salt it and leave it for half hour or so.

    3. At this point its just big chunks of stuff to go in the pot with the pork. Don't worry about chopping it its going to be removed.

    Quarter the onion chuck it in,

    Put the garlic in I never really bother chopping it, I usually just cut the woody end off.

    Quarter the oranges squeeze the juice in, chuck the remainder of the oranges in skin and all.

    Chillies, bay leaves , vinegar, cumin etc all in.

    4. Push it all down tight into the casserole dish, cover it with half a cup or so of oil so that it doesnt dry out, then cover the pot.

    5. Put it in a preheated oven - about 230, after a hour drop the temp to about 210 and let it cook for another couple of hours. You want it high, if its lower (min 180) it will take a good few hours longer for the meat to properly break down

    6. Once its cooked (the pork should shred) drain the liquid off and remove the bits of onion, oranges etc.

    7. You want the fat to separate out from the liquid and there will be a lot of fat so remove it (you can freeze it and save it for the next one to use instead of oil).

    8. Shred the pork toast it to crisp it up a bit, pour the liquid now the fats removed back into the meat and stir it in.

    I usually freeze it, and then just heat it in the microwave goes well in a pita with some salad, a chilli sauce like Sricha works well as a condiment.

    *Although I am wondering what it would be like adding to the dish on the top as its basically a comfit being cooked here.

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Carnitas

      That looks good. I'll add it to the list.

      1. Triggerfish

        Re: Carnitas

        Its a good dish, one of those you can try adding stuff to for the seasoning and tweak it to how you like it, fennel and coriander seeds aren't bad additions.

        1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

          Re: Re: Carnitas

          Yeah, our chickpea stew is the same - chuck in what you fancy and see what happens.

  15. SimonBisson

    People thank you. In the pub and haven't laughed this much in ages. Sure it tastes fine!

  16. La Barbe D'Action

    Good but needs more flavour

    I made this tonight. For a quick thrown-together dinner on a Tuesday night, it wasn't bad at all. I had a couple of sausages that needed using up, so I chucked them in too (sliced diagonally). I thought it was maybe a bit lacking in oomph - it could have done with more spices, I think, so I'll definitely add more when I next make it. (I was vegetarian for almost 20 years so I've had many a saag aloo in my time.)

  17. HAL-9000

    Saag Alloo, Sag Aloo, Saaagggy Allllllloooooooo

    Hmmmmmmmm...... Tasty

  18. A Ghost
    Pirate

    I make a pretty good curry. Not great, but not bad.

    I like to make vegetarian chilis too. Well it's all veggie for me, pretty much. I eat fish now and again.

    Got a mate from Glasgow that loves to make Kipper Curry. It's not as bad as it sounds.

    As for firing up the chip pan, did you see that program about Lemmy living in LA and he would do exactly that after a night out? Can't get chips in LA apparently at that time of the morning. Nothing else, just home made chips. Rock star behaviour indeed.

    I used to know Peter Singh the rocking Sikh, god rest his soul. He could cook a mean curry too. Now there's name dropping for you. Impressed? You should be.

    I just realised I have all the ingredients to make this except the spinach. But I do have a savoy cabbage, or half of one, thereabouts, somewhere in the deeper recesses of my fridge, in my dangerous kitchen.

    Wonder if it's worth giving it a go...

    Here's Peter with The Clash:

    http://babylonwales.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/peter-singh-and-clash.html

    Which is nice.

  19. BattleBotBob

    500 g gnocchi worked pretty good instead of 1 kg potatoes. I'm lazy.

    1. A Ghost

      I tried to make my own gnocchi once.

      Never again.

      Kitchen was a fucking h-bomb for about three days till I could mop up.

      Really, it's not worth it.

      Gnocchi is the work of the devil. Only very clever italian mamas that have had the recipe passed down from seven generations can do this. The one you get in the Guardian, or worse, the BBC - Devil Spawn.

      I can not stress this enough. Do not make Gnocchi. It's like drugs Mmkay? Just not worth it.

  20. paulc
    Happy

    Works just as well using Celeriac

    instead of potatoes...

    far fewer carbs for those of us who are carb intolerant...

  21. BrownishMonstr

    One of my favourite dishes since I was a kid. Though, I personally prefer Spinach puree as it tastes nicer, ooo and some chicken or lamb.

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